Medical myths

Here's some interesting non bike related facts I discovered on the intertwat.  I must admit I have fell for some of these myths, thanks Yahoo for setting it straight.

We only use 10 per cent of our brains

Although you might think your batty uncle might be the perfect example, in fact scans show that all of the brain is active and playing a part in our thinking. Even small amounts of damage to the brain will cause mental impairment.

Sweets and other sugary treats make children hyperactive

Repeated studies have shown that children's behaviour is not affected by the amount of sugar they've eaten - although parents rate their children as being more hyperactive if they think they have given them a sugary drink, even if it is, in fact, just water!

Breast feeding causes saggy breasts

Good news mothers - this is false. A study by American plastic surgeons found that breastfeeding had no effect on the shape of women's breasts. However being overweight or a smoker were linked to saggier breast appearance, as were the number of pregnancies, size of breast before pregnancy and the age of the woman.

We should drink 8 glasses of water a day to avoid dehydration

There is no scientific evidence to support this widely believed and often followed myth. Tea, coffee, fruit juice - even the food we eat - all provide us with fluid. In fact excessive intake of fluid can damage the body and can even be fatal.

Spinach is high in iron

There must have been something else in Popeye's diet, because spinach is not all that rich in iron. Apparently, when it was first measured the decimal point was written in the wrong place, overstating the iron content of spinach by a factor of 10. Spinach contains about 1mg of iron per 100g, whereas dried figs have 4.25mg, roast beef 2.5mg and courgettes 2.4mg.

Warm milk helps you get to sleep at night

Milk contains the enzyme tryptophan which has been linked to the initial stages of sleep - but the amount in a glass of milk probably isn't enough to make us drowsy. But the psychological effect of warm milk at bedtime may be strong enough to put us in the mood for sleep!

Sick people should rest in bed

An analysis of 39 studies on the use of bed rest in treatment found that for many ailments staying in bed had no beneficial effect. In some cases it was actually harmful. Sorry, but going back to work is sometimes the best treatment!

You should wear a hat because we lose most of our body heat through our heads

Our heads don't give off any more heat than any other part of our body. If you are fully clothed then of course most of the heat will leave through your head because it is uncovered, but the same would be true for any other similarly sized body part.

Too much stress can give you ulcers

Actually, over 90 per cent of ulcers are caused by a bacterium, Helicobacter pylori.

If you are stung by a jellyfish you should pee on the sting

Before you start approaching people on the beach asking them to do the deed, you should know this is not true. There is nothing in urine that can counteract the effects of a jellyfish sting - in fact some stings will be further activated by it. But washing out the sting with warm water may alleviate the pain and prevent further skin damage, so this may be the source of the myth.

On any Sunday

Top day in Norwich at the weekend, a classic British summer with good friends and good vibes check out some photo's here.

Fizzy pop!

Now, I'm not a big fan of energy drinks.  It's not so much the drinks them selves but the ridiculous lifestyle hype and advertising targeted towards children to ensure there loyalty for when they are older and can actually drink the caffeine ridden, sugar filled fizzy pop.
It does kinda remind me of the candy sticks you could get as a kid, these tasty sweets came in a box resembling a cigarette carton, each white sticks had a little red colouring on one end. I had great fun pretending to smoke them, especially on a cold day when you could see your warm breath.
Little did we all know these yummy candy sticks were an idea the cigarette companies came up with, so as to put subconscious messages in our heads associating tasty candy with (not so) tasty cigarettes.

So are the energy drink companies telling the kids drink this its awesome and will better you life, here's some stickers and a T shirt, you can look like a pro, you can be a pro if you drink it up!  Are they putting the messages out there to get the kids hooked and believe me some kids are hooked on this stuff! 

Sure these companies have put money back into our sport and helped a lot of struggling riders and the like, but considering how much money is injected into regular sports like footy from the energy drinks parent companies like Coca Cola it really is a token gesture, it seem to be a win win for them.

So, putting that all to one side, I do want to say one thing about Mountain Dew....it's bloody lush!
Yep, I know I have fallen fowl, but I am an adult and this was a special treat for me.

Mountain Dew is not readily available in the UK, I last tasted it's lovelyness when I was in the states 8 years ago.  So when I saw it in a small Petrol station just down the road from my house it was quite a moment.
Yep it's full of Caffeine,Sugar and other additives, the bottle itself seems to glow with a radioactive green, it's not trying to hide anything, it's been around for decades, on the bottle is a warning, not to be drunk by children, it supports 'extreme' events without plugging it to kids, it is what it is and it tastes delicious.

If your an active person then one of these once in a while..well I reckon thats fine...enjoy.

Oh and before you ask, no I'm not sponsored by them!

Busy

Well, been kinda busy, to busy to blog and even a little to busy to ride.
Studying sure takes up a lot of time and when you get to my age, that's precious minutes lost forever!

Been pretty ill to, my son was generous enough to share Gastroenteritis with me, so didn't eat for a week which left me with little energy for 'phat rads' for the following few weeks.

Anywho, managed to get along to a couple of regional races with Evan, in a more supporting role as chief team photographer.

Check out the photo's from both Royston and Norwich track.

Sabbath bloody Sabbath

It was probably 1995 or there abouts.  I walked into Woolworths one day and browsed through the albums on compact cassette, yep Cassette.
 Now normally what with Woolies being a High street shop to please the masses there would just be the top 40 popular tracks of the day, but on this day things were very different.
There it was, 'Black Sabbaths Greatest hits' for about eight quid!  I got the feeling someone had ordered it and never collected as it was so out of character amongst 'Boyz 11 Men' and frickin 'Celine Dion!'
Since that very day this cassette has been places in the glove box of every car I've owned and played with anger for every road trip and riding journey undertaken by me, me and buddies and now me and my son who is a Sabbath fan
The tape's been borrowed and copied by bike buddies, skate buddies and Sabbath lovers from all corners of the UK.  It's been on Surfing trips, played on the beach pre and post surf sessions late into the night, it's been in stereo's and played on many a half pipe deck, getting people pumped to pull 'that' trick.
The car I drive at the moment still has a cassette player in it.  I play my ipod through a cassette adapter but still punch in the Sabbath tape now and then, it's a little stretched but it's all good and long may it continue, I'm taking that damn tape to the grave.

Mission to Norwich!

A couple of weekends ago I was determined to make things 'happen' on the BMX. I wasn't attending the National BMX race at my local track in Braintree so I really felt the need to make the weekends riding count.
The loose plan was to get on top of Norwich's 3rd straight, I had this in my head all week and was feeling confident.  Me and Evan set out mid afternoon on Saturday with a quick stop in Bury Town to pick up Jonny on the way.  The essential Black Sabbath 'Greatest Hits' on cassette was the chosen in flight entertainment, this tape has been with me for around fifteen years, it has been the chosen tune for many riding trips, it has all the ingredients to get you pumped for some MX action, it never fails!
On the whole it was a pretty successful trip with me managing to pop the first double after a step up step down jump thanks to Jonny towing me round, although I didn't make a real smooth landing it all feels within reach.
We returned last weekend but the weather was against us, crazy northerly winds and rain showers, curse the British weather!

cheeky trail

Well, I've been putting the miles in on the XC bike and actually commuting to work too.
Think I'm coming round to the idea of SPD's, as I slowly get used to them, still not sure about tackling more tech trail riding and stuff, but I guess all that will come in time.  Why I didn't get them years ago I really don't know.

I found a nice little trail that runs from a village near my town right through to near Cambridge City which is about 13 miles away.  Most of the terrain involves following footpaths and bridleways through and around fields which isn't the most exciting riding but still it's always great to be out.  One of the things that made it so good was not having to pack the car, drive, unpack the bikes, pack the bikes, drive, unpack.....

For some reason only known to me, I chose to live in a part of the country that doesn't have much to offer on my doorstep, in the way of XC or any other off road cycling pursuits and having to drive to get to the fun places can be annoying.